Fellow contributor to The Mag, Greg McPeake, surprised me at the weekend with his instant reaction to the home defeat by Brentford.
I normally enjoy reading his articles and comments, as well as those by his teenage son, Chuks. Greg and I WhatsApp each other most weeks to discuss what’s what and we have nearly met in person at least once this season outside a London ground. Blame me for mobile phone incompetence…
While we disagree on a few Newcastle United matters, there’s definitely much more we have in common. Hence my surprise.
For those late to this little tiff, here is part of Greg’s instant reaction from Saturday: ‘Brentford is a rubbish club in my opinion, pandering to the so-called big clubs with their genuflecting and grovelling. Good luck to the sad Brentford fans who are happy to have a win tonight at a big club but will never be competing in real terms. The sooner we get rid of Burnley, Bournemouth, Brentford from the prem the better.’
Sorry, mate, but that’s not a good look, in my opinion. Understandable after we conceded three goals at home including a late winner…but you were coming across as entitled.
By the time we had sent Spurs and a not-so-merry manager on their merry way, I had forgotten your previous comments. Blame me for shocking short-term memory.
Anyway, on Friday I turned to The Mag, as I do nearly every day, and you’ve popped up again to explain your view. In cliche-land it’s known as doubling down. In the good old days, we would have said: “When you are in a hole, stop digging!”
You dismiss Brentford as a club with little history. How far do you go back? In the mid-1930s they were the highest-placed London club in the old Football League, even higher than the Woolwich, who just after the First World War had bribed their way into the top flight. That is not a figure of speech or an exaggeration. A century ago, the Nearly Men were pioneers of the dark arts. Their owner and chairman at the time, Sir Henry Norris, was charged by the FA with making illegal payments in an eight-year reign of corruption.
He was banned for life from football in 1927. If you want to put an asterisk against Manchester City’s recent trophy haul, there needs to be a bloody big black spot against the achievements of the former south London outfit, no matter how gleaming their marble halls.
Back to Brentford. I was taken to Griffin Park in the early Seventies when a full-back called Stewart Houston was making his name after being signed from Chelsea. There really is little new in football; Chelsea sell an excellent young defender for a bargain price and regret their profligacy within a season or two. Houston helped Manchester United win the FA Cup in 1977.
Griffin Park was showing its age in those days, even though it had a claim to fame that would impress any right-thinking Geordie. Just beyond each of the four corner flags, no more than a long free-kick from the pitch, stood a pub. If that doesn’t justify a place at football’s top table, what does . . .
You say Brentford “are playing the Premier League monetary system, well managed financially but realistically not challengers, just makeweights for the big clubs to continue their dominance”.
I wonder whether that little chap from the Basque Country agrees with you, Greg, after his lot were lucky to escape with a point from the Gtech on Thursday night. Brentford are putting up a pretty good challenge this season, despite selling some of their best players over the past two seasons. The Bees are buzzing louder than the Mags are flying in pursuit of a European berth in 2026-27.
They are in the Premier League on merit. Clever recruitment and sales are the reason, alongside good coaching and management. They lost their manager in the summer, they lost two top scorers in the transfer window six months ago. Arguably, they are coping better than Newcastle United with the constraints of PSR and the other twisted regulations intended to prolong the status quo. Mind, Spurs are doing their bit to undermine the Big Six cartel!
Football needs churn, otherwise it becomes boring.
When I was a baby and my family lived in Chiswick, Brentford were the local club. Maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for them, even though they have taken six points off us this season.
In my opinion there are many clubs far more deserving of our ire than the Bees.